A Gundam Ghost Story
by Dem0nFl0wer
Summary: 1x2. Heero is a bill collector who was recently dumped by his fiance. Heartbroken, he stumbles into a demon city, where he meets the real love of his life. The problem? Duo Maxwell, the object of his affections, is dead. (incomplete)


  
A Gundam Ghost Story  
Part One  
  
Heero ran up a hill, hoping he wasn't too late. And then he saw it- the wedding procession. He took half a second to catch his breath and look over the parade. It was led by the groom, who was followed by seemingly throngs of people. At the end was the bridal carriage, carried by four servants. Heero started running to catch up with the carriage, stumbling as he evened out his pace to jog beside it.   
  
"Relena," he managed to mutter, his breath still ragged from the running.   
  
Relena, sitting on her calves in the opulent box, looked over to face Heero. She was dressed in red and gold wedding robes that flowed around her, her hair an intricate weaving of gold strands and ornaments. "Heero, I don't remember inviting you to my wedding."  
  
"Relena, I thought we were getting married!"  
  
Relena shrugged as she faced forward again. "I've been waiting, but you're always so busy with your work. I only see you twice a year. You can't expect me to be happy with that."  
  
"But I've been making money for our future!"  
  
"I don't need money, Heero. I need love." Relena reached out with her hand, drawing the curtain on the carriage and effectively blocking out Heero.  
  
"But Relena, our love is solid gold!"  
  
"You can keep your Solid Gold. "Relena's hands appeared from the folds of the curtain, holding a white puppy with brown spots. "He craps all over the carpet."  
  
Heero caught the puppy as it fell out of Relena's hands, standing there as the procession left. "Relena…"  
  
~*~  
  
Heero sat down on the floor of the abandoned temple. The floorboards creaked with his weight, attesting to the building's age. It was a decrepit place, but at least it was somewhere he could stay for the night.   
The dog Heero had named Solid Gold ran in circles around him as he opened his laptop. He sighed, turning the machine on to check his business records. It looked like tomorrow he would have to go to Mungo City. For some reason no one wanted to take this job, which was strange since it offered a good amount of money. For a bill collector, at any rate. Heero looked over at Solid Gold, who was lying there with his eyes half shut.  
  
Good plan, Heero thought, before he decided to take Solid Gold's cue and go to sleep. He took a blanket out of his bag, setting it up as a makeshift bed, when the floorboards beneath his feet started to shake.  
  
"What the hell…" he stood up, stumbling a little, staring in shock as what seemed like a tornado rode into the temple. At the top of the tornado was a figure, white robes and platinum hair flowing around him.  
  
"Mister Zechs! I definitely sense them in here!"   
  
Heero turned to the source of the voice, seeing a girl with long white blond hair running along the tornado's base. The man named Zechs nodded as he looked down at the girl, the tornado dissipating into a fog until he was lowered to the floor. The girl started to run up to him, but realized she was staring down the barrel of a .45.  
  
"State your name," Heero demanded, his finger on the trigger. The girl only scoffed in indignation.  
  
"You're kidding. Well, if you must know, my name's Dorothy Catalonia, and I'm the assistant to the world's best ghost hunter."  
  
Heero lowered her gun slightly, turning around to face Zechs, who had been staring at the two during their conversation. "Ghost hunter?"  
  
Zechs smiled, nose tilted upwards in pride. "Zechs Marquis. I've abolished more spirits on this realm than all the other ghost hunters put together. Well, as long as you don't count Winner."  
  
At Heero's mildly confused expression, Dorothy explained. "Quatre Winner is also a ghost hunter. He's not worthy of his title, if you ask me, and he's always going for our territory."  
  
"Dorothy!" Heero looked up at the Zech's call, and Dorothy bounded towards the middle of the room.   
  
"Yes, sir!" She held up her staff, bringing it down on the floor with a loud thud. Heero momentarily lost his balance, then nearly gagged at the stench that was appearing.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"Foul smells," Zechs responded, as little eyeballs started floated up from the cracks in the floor. "They must have been hiding here for decades."  
  
Heero watched as Zechs swept all the eyeballs up in a strong gust of wind, then propelled them back to the ground, where they let of a squeal and dispelled.  
  
"What a wonderful job, Zechs," Dorothy praised, as Heero rolled his eyes.   
  
Zechs looked around suddenly. "Do you hear that?"  
  
"I don't hear anything," Heero replied.  
  
"Of course not, you don't have my superb hearing. It's Winner's ship."  
  
"That creep!" Dorothy called, running after Zechs as he left the building. "Hey, maybe we'll see you around some time. Watch out for ghosts!"  
  
Heero snorted as the two left, looking around at the shambles the temple had been reduced to. Solid Gold whined piteously at his feet.  
  
"Well," he said, turning on his heel, "I guess we won't be staying here tonight. Might as well get a head start on tomorrow's job."  
  
~*~  
  
This city was gorgeous. Heero looked down at the paper he held in his hand making sure he had the right place. Mungo City... yup, this was it. He had no idea why no one wanted this job. It was easy enough... collecting money from an old couple that ran a pawnshop... they had never even been late with their payments before. They wouldn't be any trouble at all. And the city was gorgeous!  
  
Heero stepped pass the city gates, marveling at all the buildings. They were built like temples, painted red and gold and every color of the rainbow. Different colored lanterns ran around every single one of them. It was a feast of lights and colors. And the people... it was like a parade, all the people running around. He wondered if it was so festive all the time.  
  
"Oh, here it is." Heero read the sign on a dome shaped building, stepping into the shop as Solid Gold scampered in after him. For some reason the dog was whimpering. Heero approached the front desk. The counter was covered with a screen of dark glass, so he couldn't see the cashier, but there was a small hole near the bottom for the exchange of goods and money.   
  
"Hello? Bill collector."  
  
Heero heard some one shuffle around in the back, then a high pitched voice. "Yes, yes, I'll be right there."  
  
In a moment a wad of bills was shoved through the hole, and Heero picked it up to count it.  
  
"There you go, sonny."  
  
"Hn." Heero grunted his response as he pocketed the cash and left the building. It was time for him to stop by the agency, dropping off all the money he had collected, but he decided to stay in this city a little bit. "Hungry, Solid Gold?"  
  
The dog yelped in reply, wagging his tail as he followed his master.  
  
Heero walked down the main street, ogling the lights and buildings. Then, out of nowhere, something banged into his side. His footing slipped out from under him as he tumbled to the ground, landing face first in the dirt. He got up, a about to yell at whoever pushed him, when the procession coming down the street stopped him.  
  
It was a mass of people in costumes, but it was the center of his crowd that got his attention. There was a boy sitting on a bamboo seat, carried by some of the masquerading men. Heero realized, then, that every one was wearing costumes, and he realized if some kind of festival was going on.  
  
He didn't have much time to ponder it as the boy passed by him, and he scampered through the crowd to keep up with the parade. The boy was lovely. He was dressed in the finest silk robes, his long chestnut hair done up in an elaborate style. His skin was like porcelain, and his lips enticingly pink. Heero could hear his heart skip in tune to some unheard music as he followed the intriguing man, then the boy turned and looked at him. He stopped, frozen, as his eyes connected with blue amethysts.  
  
"Wow."  
  
The procession had left, the crowd too dense for Heero to follow. But he vowed to himself that he would find the boy again before he left this city, no matter what.  
  
~tbc~  
  



End file.
